


Right Then And There

by pictureswithboxes



Series: Chaubrey Series [3]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, literally fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pictureswithboxes/pseuds/pictureswithboxes
Summary: "I just really wanted to marry you right then and there"





	Right Then And There

Beca Mitchell was out of shape. She was the first to admit it, and she was fine with that. It didn’t stop her from doing what she loved. So what if she was out of breath after running up and down a flight of stairs? She wasn’t trying to win the Olympics or anything. 

And yet, there she was. Trapped at the gym with Aubrey and Chloe. 

The only thing worse than being at the gym was being at the gym with someone who regularly exercised. It was awful. Beca was in her own personal hell.She didn’t even know how she’d been dragged into the situation. One minute, Beca was hanging out with Chloe, the next, Chloe was dragging her to the gym. The only thing that made it worse was that Chloe had told Aubrey to come with them. Everything was awful and Beca was miserable. 

“Let’s get some water.” Chloe suggested after seeing Beca bent over, wheezing. “Aubrey,” She called over her shoulder. “We’re getting some water.”

Beca was one of those people that hated the taste of water. And yet, when the water from Chloe’s water bottle hit her lips, it tasted like the nectar of the gods. 

“God, I never thought I’d love water so much.” Beca gasped after drinking more than half of Chloe’s water. 

“You used to do cardio six days a week, what happened?” Chloe asked with a little laugh, sitting down beside Beca and wiping the sweat off her forehead.

“I obviously decided to love my life and stop doing cardio.” Beca replied, taking another swig of water. 

“Obviously.” Aubrey teased as she approached Chloe and Beca. “Why did you even come with us if you weren’t ready to work out?”

Beca turned to glare at Chloe. “I don’t know. Why  _ am  _ I here?” 

“Because we were having fun hanging out,” Chloe smiled, looking over at Aubrey. “And Bree says that you have to stick to your regimen to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

Beca scowled. “My lifestyle is perfectly healthy. I eat a salad once a week. And I eat a fruit at least three days a week.”

Aubrey’s brow furrowed as she sat down beside Chloe. “Congratulations on your... health.”

“Thank you.” Beca replied, drinking more of Chloe’s water.

“Hey babe,” Beca heard Aubrey mumble. “Did you not give Beca her own bottle?”

“I did not.” Chloe replied quietly. 

“Do you need a drink?” Aubrey offered Chloe her water bottle. “Or do you want to try the fountain again?”

Beca was quiet for a moment. What did Aubrey mean by “try”? There had to be something she was missing. From Beca’s experience, she couldn’t think of a time she’d ever had to try to use a drinking fountain. 

“What do you mean by try?” Beca asked, earning an embarrassed look from Chloe. 

“I...” Chloe paused, sending a glare at Aubrey, who’d started to laugh. “I can’t use drinking fountains.”

Beca blinked a few times as she processed this. “What the hell?”

“Chloe can’t press the button and drink at the same time.” Aubrey explained between her laughter. 

“I just can’t do it.” Chloe sighed, putting her head in her hands. 

Beca stared at her for a moment, her jaw hanging a little slack. She honestly did not believe this. “I... I don’t believe you. You have to show me.”

Chloe stood up and let out a dry laugh. “It’s not a big deal.” She said, walking to the fountain with Aubrey following closely behind her. “I can’t use a drinking fountain by myself. So what? Aubrey just hits the button for me while I do my thing.”

Beca couldn’t help but laugh at that. Chloe could not have phrased that worse. It was lucky that Amy wasn’t there, she would never let it drop. Or at least that’s what Beca told herself as she laughed her ass off. 

“Seriously, Beca?” Chloe whined. “Come on, it’s not that funny.”

“It’s a little funny.” Aubrey said quietly, pressing the button on the fountain. “You might as well get a drink.”

And that was when Beca completely lost it. She bent over and had to clutch her stomach as she laughed. Everything sounded so ridiculous. How could all of this be happening? It definitely made up for being at the gym. Oh how things can change in an instant. Everything was suddenly worth knowing that Chloe couldn’t use a drinking fountain without Aubrey’s help.

“Are you done?” Chloe asked, wiping her mouth after getting her drink. 

Beca had tears in her eyes from laughter, and shook her head. “No, I have so many questions.”

“Are they about the drinking fountain thing?” Chloe asked. 

“Yeah.” Beca nodded, looking at Aubrey. “Like, why on earth do you just accept that she can’t use a drinking fountain and press the button for her?”

Aubrey gave Beca a blank look. “Because I love her. And I’ve known for years. It’s really only funny when someone else finds out.”

“God, that’s adorable.” Beca mumbled. “Why aren’t you two married yet?”

“Because she won’t ask me!” The two of them replied at the same time. Both sounding a little annoyed. 

Beca laughed again. “What the hell is wrong with you guys?”

“Look, I already asked once, and it’s Chloe’s turn.” Aubrey explained, sending Chloe a look. “And she said no when I proposed the first time-”

“You proposed?” Beca asked, furrowing her brow and looking at Chloe. “And you said no?!”

“It was that night we all got super drunk and Aubrey and I ended up sleeping in the trunk of Amy’s Hummer.” Chloe explained. “And Aubrey wanted to propose and I told her.” She turned to Aubrey and glared a little. “I  _ told you _ that if you proposed to me in the back of Amy’s Hummer, I’d say no. And what did you do?”

“I really wanted to be engaged to you right then and there.” Aubrey said, taking a drink of water. “And it just happened to be in the back of Amy’s Hummer.”

And that was when Beca lost it again. 

* * *

Emily was just happy to be included, to be honest. It was a Bellas get together at Chloe and Aubrey’s house, Chloe had explained that while, they’d like to hold it at Beca’s new place, everyone had voted on Chloe’s house. Emily had thought it was because of their puppy.

And upon meeting him, she knew she was right. Emily Junk loved Barko Polo. 

“You are the best dog in the world.” Emily said, looking into the puppy’s eyes and she held him in her arms. “I love you so much.”

Barko Polo licked Emily’s nose. 

“Aubrey!” Emily exclaimed, getting Aubrey’s attention. “He loves me too!”

Aubrey’s brow furrowed as she pieced together what Emily had just said. “That’s... great. He pretty much likes anyone who gives him attention, though...” 

Emily’s jaw fell open, how dare Aubrey try to cheapen her and Barko Polo’s relationship? “I love him and he loves me!”

“Okay...” Aubrey knelt down in front of where Emily was sitting with Barko Polo and smiled at the puppy. “Hey, buddy,” She said in a tone that Emily had never heard Aubrey use. It was sweet and kind of adorable. “Are you ready for bedtime?”

Barko Polo tilted his head to one side. 

“Come on.” Aubrey opened her arms and he jumped over to her. “Let’s take you outside and get you crated, hmm?”

“He can’t stay for the whole party?” Emily didn’t mean to whine. She really didn’t. But it came out that way.

“He’s up way past his bedtime.” Aubrey replied, standing up. Apparently that was a good enough answer.

“... Okay...” Emily said, watching as Aubrey walked away with the cutest puppy in the world. 

Emily was too busy mourning the loss of Barko Polo in her arms, she hadn’t noticed Chloe sidle up next to her. “My girlfriend is the hottest, isn’t she?” She whispered. “Just look at that ass.”

“Uh...” Emily couldn’t say that she’d noticed Aubrey’s ass. She turned to speak to Chloe, only to wince a little as the smell of alcohol on Chloe’s breath. “I was mostly paying attention to Barko Polo...”

Chloe laughed. “We put his crate in the guest room if you wanna see him.” Chloe gestured vaguely in the direction that Aubrey had left. 

“Why not your guys’ room?” Emily asked. She didn’t know why it even mattered. 

“Whenever Amy drinks at our house, she takes over our room.” Chloe replied with a shrug, now leaning against Emily’s shoulder. She let out a little sigh. “Also in case Aubrey and I have sex tonight.”

That was more information than Emily needed to know. “That’s nice to know.”

“Yeah, you’re totally gonna hear us if we do it tonight.” Chloe continued casually. “Unless you’re in the guest room. We have the TV on in there so Barko Polo doesn’t freak out with the party going on.”

“What’s he watching?” Once again, Emily didn’t know why that even mattered to her. 

“I think Aubrey’s turning on  _ Animal Planet _ for him.” Chloe replied after a moment’s thought. “We have like a thousand episodes of  _ The Puppy Bowl  _ recorded, so he’s got something interesting to watch.”

Emily kind of wished she was in the guest room watching  _ The Puppy Bowl  _ with Barko Polo. “That sounds like a good night.”

“Yeah, Aubrey even got him a new bone just for the party.” Chloe sighed happily. “He’s her baby.”

“Didn’t she get him for you?” Emily asked. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Chloe nodded. “Aubrey got him for me and now he’s her baby. And here I am. Baby-less.”

Emily’s brow furrowed. Did Chloe want a baby? Like an actual human baby? “You want kids?”

“Oh god no.” Chloe exclaimed, pulling away from Emily and giving her a weird look. “Like a fur baby, Emily. Can you imagine if Aubrey and me had kids? Think of the PTA meetings, Emily!”

Emily did not want to think about Aubrey Posen at a PTA meeting. 

Before Emily was able to reply, there was a loud crash from across the room. Emily looked in the direction that the crash had come from and let out a little gasp. It looked like Fat Amy had managed to smash something ceramic. There was either sand or ashes spilled all on Chloe and Aubrey’s floor. Emily hoped to god it wasn’t ashes.

“Well, Aubrey was right about everyone destroying our belongings.” Chloe groaned and stood up, rolling her eyes as she walked off. “I’m gonna clean that up before she gets back and throws a shit fit.”

“What was in that anyway?” Emily asked after Chloe. 

“Sand from Italy.” Chloe replied over her shoulder.

“Oh thank god.” Emily sighed to herself, leaning back in her seat. “I thought it was someone they loved.”

Nights with Beca’s Bellas were different than nights with the new Bellas. There always seemed to be some kind of minor disaster whenever Emily hung out with them, and from the stories she’d heard, minor disasters happened whenever they gathered. Some, though, didn’t seem so minor either. Emily was amazed that Chloe and Aubrey would allow these women into their home. 

“Don’t go out back,” Aubrey warned Emily when the party was in full swing. “Amy’s decided she wants to play a game.” She took a long drink straight out of a bottle of whiskey and sighed. “I barely escaped.”

“How?” Emily asked, following Aubrey back into the living room where either Jessica or Ashley had passed out. Emily wasn’t sure which was which. 

“I said I was getting more booze.” Aubrey lifted the bottle up and sat down, gently nudging Jessica or Ashley with her foot. “And I did. But I’m not bringing it out to those idiots.”

“Who’s all out there?” Emily asked, feeling a little relieved when Jessica or Ashley mumbled and rolled over onto her side. 

“The usual suspects.” Aubrey shrugged. “I think Flo’s in my side of the closet though. And Jessica is sleeping in the bathtub.”

“So that’s Ashley, then?” Emily pointed at who she now believed to be Ashley.

“Yeah.” Aubrey nodded. “You lived with them for a year... How do you not know their names?” Aubrey shook her head. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

“So everyone else is out back?” Emily asked. 

“Yep.” Aubrey took a drink from her bottle. “I tried to rescue Chloe, but apparently it only takes one person to get more booze, so we couldn’t escape.”

“You just left her out there?” Emily frowned. Aubrey’s dad had to have said something about not leaving a man behind at some point in Aubrey’s life. 

“She told me to save myself.” Aubrey said. “And it’s for the best that I don’t give them more liquor. Everyone’s hangover is gonna be terrible.”

“Even yours?”

“I don’t get hangovers.”

“Oh. Why?”

“I’m not a pussy, that’s why.”

Emily laughed a little. She’d forgotten that Aubrey was funny when she drank. 

“But Chloe’s gonna be in hell tomorrow, I’ll tell you that.” Aubrey continued. “I told her to drink a bottle of water every time she finished drink. But does she listen? No. No one listens to Aubrey.”

“That’s good advice.” Emily said, as she looked at her nearly empty drink. “Where are the water bottles?”

“Fridge.” Aubrey gestured vaguely toward the kitchen. “Wanna know something?”

“Sure.” Emily nodded. 

“I wish I didn’t propose to Chloe.” Aubrey said simply, taking another drink. 

“You can’t just drop a bomb like that and expect me not to ask for more details.” Emily replied. She was severely out of the loop if Aubrey had proposed and she didn’t know about it. “Wait... Are you and Chloe engaged?”

Aubrey held up her left hand, there was no ring. “Nope.” She said, popping the “p” before beginning to laugh. “I forgot that no one told you. I thought Amy would tell everyone about it.”

“She doesn’t tell me things because she hates me.” Emily said quickly, earning an oddly reassuring pat on the arm from Aubrey. 

“I can see why.” Aubrey said gently before laughing again. “I’m just screwing with you, you’re fine. Amy just hates... logic. And personal boundaries. And... normal people, I think...” 

Emily was oddly comforted by that. “So, you proposed to Chloe?” 

At that moment, Emily was thankful that she’d only had two drinks. Well, really it was one and a half because Chloe had taken her first one out of her hand and finished it “for her.” Either way, it was easier to keep Aubrey on track. She needed to hear this story.

“Chloe and I were laying down in the trunk of Amy’s car and I looked at her.” Aubrey said, smiling. “I looked at her and her big, dumb, giant eyes and I said that I wanted to marry her. And Chloe said that if I asked her to marry me in the back of Amy’s car, she’d say no. But I really wanted to be engaged to her right there, so I asked anyway. And before she said no, I told her that I was only gonna ask once.”

“Why?”

“I thought she’d say yes.”

“But she didn’t.”

“She did not.”

“Oh.”

“And now I can’t ask her again. Even though I wanna marry her so hard.”

“Why not just ask her then?”

Aubrey scoffed. “I’m Aubrey Fucking Posen, I don’t go back on my word. No matter how stupid it is.” She finished her bottle. “Ask anyone.”

“You didn’t drink that entire bottle, did you?” Emily asked when she noticed Aubrey begin to sway a little. 

“God no!” Aubrey sat up, fully alert. “I’m not twenty-one anymore, Emily. If I try to do that now, I’ll die.”

“Oh thank god.”

“Not gonna lie, I did drink a lot, though.” 

With that, Aubrey stood up and headed over to her fridge, where she pulled out two bottles of water, leaving one on the counter and sitting at the counter with the other. It took Emily a moment to realize that the other bottle was for her. She went over to where Aubrey was seated and opened the bottle, taking a few big gulps before putting it back down. 

“Thanks.” Emily smiled.

Aubrey lifted her bottle and tapped it against Emily’s. “Welcome.” She said, taking a little sip and grimacing. “Chloe won’t ask me to marry her.”

“Oh.” And it was at that moment that Emily realized she’d opened a can of worms. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you think she doesn’t want to marry me?” Aubrey asked, not looking away from her water bottle. 

“No, I think she wants to.” Emily went to pat Aubrey’s back, but her hand froze a couple inches away. “Maybe she wants you to be sure...”

“I bought her a puppy.” Aubrey snapped. “And I love him so much, and if anything happened to him, I’d... I don’t even want to think about it.”

Emily fully agreed with Aubrey. 

“It’s not my fault he loves me more than her.” Aubrey continued. “I told her that we can get a kitten when Barko’s done being terrible.”

“What do you mean terrible?” As far as Emily was concerned, Barko Polo was the best dog on earth. With the best name. 

Aubrey looked at Emily for a moment. “He somehow got a hold of Chloe’s razor, brought it onto our bed, chewed it up, and left the blades on the bed. It was like something from  _ Saw _ ” 

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah.” Aubrey nodded. “I just wanna wait to get a kitten until he’s done with this horrible, horrible phase.”

“That makes sense.”

“I wanna marry Chloe so bad.” Aubrey said quietly. “And it’s not just a love thing. I want her to legally be the one to choose if the plug gets pulled if I’m ever in an accident. And she won’t have to testify if I’m on trial.”

“Do you plan on getting arrested?”

“Does anyone?” 

Emily was left to ponder that unsettling answer when there was a crash coming from outside and Aubrey stood up.

“Can we have one get together where all of my things make it through the night intact?” She grumbled, going outside. 

Thrilled that she didn’t even have time to tell Aubrey about the Italian sand, Emily took another drink from her water bottle. 

Within a minute, Chloe came in through the same door Aubrey just exited, looking pleased with herself. “I totally just smashed a bottle to lure my girlfriend out to deal with our friends.” 

“Wow.” Emily couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s pretty...” 

“Oh no, it was terrible and mean.” Chloe said quickly. “But it had to be done. Aubrey’s gonna put everyone to bed in like four minutes once she sees what happened to the patio.”

“What happened to the patio?” Emily asked nervously. 

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Chloe shrugged, grabbing Emily’s water bottle off the counter and taking a drink. “It’ll only bother Aubrey.”

“She’s really not too thrilled about us all being here, is she?” Emily couldn’t help but feel a little guilty even though she had nothing to do with the destruction of Aubrey’s home. 

“Don’t let her fool you, she loves everyone in or around this house.” Chloe said, sitting down in the same seat Aubrey had vacated. “Oh shit, this is warm...”

“Aubrey was sitting there before you smashed the bottle.”

“That’s awesome. We’re totally meant to be.”

“Then maybe you should ask her to marry you.” It came out of Emily’s mouth before she could stop it, but honestly, she had no regrets. “Because she’s worried that you don’t want to marry her and it’s really weird to see her sad and drinking whiskey out of the bottle.”

Chloe’s brow furrowed. “Shit, is Aubrey whiskey drunk?” She asked, not waiting for Emily to reply before continuing. “God damn, I hope she’s not too drunk. Every time she gets whiskey drunk, she ends up getting really emotional and starts oversharing.”

“Yeah, I kind of noticed that.” Emily shook her head, that was a lot of information to take in, but she wasn’t going to let Chloe change the subject. “Nope, you can’t change the subject. You’re making your girlfriend sad and it’s so mean because she loves you so much. It’s not her fault the puppy loves her more.”

“Calm down, Emily.” Chloe rolled her eyes and finished Emily’s water. “I have a ring, I’m just waiting until she shuts up about marriage before I ask her.”

“Why?”

“So she doesn’t think I’m just doing it because she asked me to.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Chloe looked at the empty bottle and frowned. “I just realized that I finished this bottle. I hope it was Aubrey’s...”

“Nope. It was mine.” 

“I’m sorry... Want me to take you to the guest room so we can bother my dog?”

“Yes please!”

* * *

“Why do we always have to play a game whenever we hang out?” Aubrey grumbled when Amy suggested they play another one of her made up “games.”

“Well you don’t have to play it.” Amy shrugged with a smirk. 

“Oh, I’m gonna play. And I’m gonna win.” Aubrey said quickly. “Don’t even act like I’m not gonna mop the floor with you.”

Stacie rolled her eyes at her friends and didn’t even look up from her phone. She loved Amy and Aubrey to pieces, but honestly, at this point, she could predict exactly how the conversation was going to go. Amy’s weird game was going to annoy Aubrey, Aubrey would then poke holes in the logic of Amy’s weird game, and then Amy would finish whatever drink she had and call Aubrey a wimp. Stacie nodded to herself at the prediction and glanced up, smiling a little when Amy finished her drink. 

One point for Conrad. 

“Just tell us the game.” Beca said in a bored tone, Stacie shared a look with her. She was sure Beca had just gone through the same scenario in her head. 

“Yeah, Amy.” Chloe piped up, putting a hand on Aubrey’s shoulder. Stacie had seen that gesture enough times to know that it was like putting a leash on a barking dog. “Maybe this time your game will be fun!”

Stacie’s brow furrowed at that. She had no idea if Chloe had meant to be hurtful, it didn’t help that Chloe had a smile on her face almost every time she spoke. 

“... Okay.” Amy sent Chloe a confused and irritated look before rubbing her hands together. “This game is called self roast.”

Stacie couldn’t help but laugh and look at Aubrey. What a terrible game to suggest.

“The rules are that you have to go hard and the first person to cry loses.” Amy explained quickly, looking excited. “Now, we have to decide who goes first.”

“How about the oldest?” Beca suggested with a shrug. 

Stacie actually snorted at that. Beca might have been trying to be nonchalant, but Stacie knew exactly what she was doing. And based on the look on Chloe’s face, so did Chloe.

“Fine, I’ll go first.” Aubrey looked annoyed. “What if I have more self roasts than anyone else?”

Amy shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Just don’t cry. And start your roast with ‘Hey’ and then your name.”

“And it also has to be something none of us know.” Stacie added, looking at Chloe. “Unless you’re dating them, I guess.”

“Okay.” Aubrey nodded, pausing to think for a moment. “Hey Aubrey, remember when you had a secret crush on a girl from high school and she asked you if you were seeing anyone. and you said no, hoping she was gonna ask you out. Except she didn’t ask you out, she just said that you should see someone because you seem like you need a therapist?”

That was so depressing, Stacie was surprised her body was able to produce a laugh.

“Wow.” Beca said quietly. 

“Yeah.” Aubrey said, shifting a little in her seat. “Chloe, it’s your turn.”

Having Aubrey go first actually seemed like a good strategy now that Stacie thought about it. Aubrey’s competitive nature mixed with the oversharing theme of the game definitely upped the stakes. No one could get away with a weak roast. Stacie smirked a little. She was pretty confident that nothing she could come up with would measure up at all to anything the other four would say.

“Okay, I’ve got one.” Chloe said, frowning a little. “Hey Chloe, remember when you were having sex with a guy at a party and you accidentally called out Aubrey’s name during. And how Aubrey was walking by when it happened, so she came into the room, thinking you called her and then you had to explain to her and the dude what just happened?”

“Shit, that did happen...” Aubrey mumbled, putting her head in her hands. 

“Wow...” Amy said quietly. “In hindsight, this was not a good game to play.”

“I could’ve told you that.” Stacie said, earning a glare from Aubrey.

“Why didn’t you?” She demanded.

Stacie shrugged. 

Aubrey was quiet for a moment. “So... if the game is over, does that mean that Chloe and I win due to forfeit?”

Everyone groaned loudly. Except Chloe, who looked thrilled at the prospect of winning a competition. Stacie rolled her eyes at them, how could two people be that competitive?

“I think we should win, babe.” Chloe said, turning to peck Aubrey’s lips. 

“Oh really?” Aubrey laughed a little. “You think we should win? That’s such a surprise.”

Stacie looked away from the couple and let them be cute by themselves in peace. She really did think it was a good idea to end the self roasting game, there was no way they’d be able to get past that. With a small shrug to herself, Stacie decided that Aubrey would probably win the game then go home and cry herself to sleep. 

“Stace, what do you think?” Beca asked, making Stacie look up.

“I think they should win.” Stacie replied quickly. “You know that if we kept up with the game, they’d have the best material.” She sent Aubrey a look. “I’m pretty sure Aubrey roasts herself in the mirror every morning.”

“You kind of do, babe.” Chloe laughed. 

“A pep talk is different from a roast.” Was Aubrey’s terse reply.

Stacie couldn’t help but laugh.

“I agree with Stacie.” Amy said with a nod. “Aubrey’s a huge can of worms. She probably has more material than any of us...” She looked at Beca. “Except maybe Beca.”

Beca frowned. “Other than my commitment issues, I can’t think of anything else.”

“You’re really short.” Amy supplied. 

“You’re only an inch taller than me.” Beca snapped.

“That one inch is a lot.” Amy shrugged. “Aubrey’s only an inch taller than Chloe and she looks like an uptight giraffe compared to her.”

“You know, you didn’t have to do that.” Aubrey sounded annoyed. Rightly so. “You really didn’t have to drag me into this and be mean for no reason.”

Stacie was sure that Amy was not governed by any kind of reason. “I think it’s because you wear taller heels than Chloe.” Stacie said, easily diffusing the situation. 

“She really does.” Chloe nodded. “You know, Bree can do a cartwheel in heels. It’s really impressive.”

Stacie leaned back in her seat and watched as Chloe and Aubrey spoke to each other. They were relatively cute together, in a gross kind of way, Stacie could admit that. She wasn’t a big fan of looking at couples and monogamy, but Chloe and Aubrey were cute. 

“You know, Aubrey.” Stacie said after a few moments of silence. “I think I actually like you and Chloe as a couple.”

Everyone sent Stacie a confused look. 

“Gee thanks, Stace.” Chloe replied with a laugh. “It’s not like we’ve been a couple around you for years.”

“Maybe she decided not to mention it too soon because she was afraid that Aubrey would go insane and blow the whole relationship.” Amy shrugged, earning a smack on the arm from Beca.

“Dude! That was mean!” Beca chided. “What the hell!?”

Aubrey seemed to consider Amy’s words. “You know, I think you’re wrong. I’ve grown a lot as a person.”

Stacie neglected to mention that Aubrey had just insisted that she’d won a fake game made up by Amy not ten minutes ago. 

“You really have.” Chloe kissed Aubrey quickly. “And I really love you.”

“I love you too.”

“But, you’re still weird.”

“That must be why I like you so much.”

“That’s rude.”

“Oh, I’m the rude one? You just said I wasn’t normal!”

Stacie smiled a little at their banter and shared a look with Beca. Sometimes it was funny to get them started like that. 

“When they get married, I call dibs on being one of Chloe’s bridesmaids.” Stacie whispered to Beca. 

“That’s a solid choice.” Beca replied. 

“I call dibs on officiating.” Amy added, looking completely serious. 

Stacie grinned. Now that was a wedding she wanted to see. 

* * *

Fat Amy finished drinking her fourth beer of the night and sat back in her lawn chair. She loved the Fourth of July, the American holiday gave her so much every year. Mostly alcohol, but there were also fireworks and s’mores. But Fat Amy was mostly thankful for the alcohol. She was pretty sure that Fourth of July was for giving thanks.

“Chloe, for serious, don’t swing those around!” Aubrey exclaimed when Chloe and Beca ran by playing with sparklers. “You’ll burn your eye out!”

Fat Amy took a moment to note that Aubrey had neglected to warn Beca. “Aubrey, how many people do you know who’ve burnt their eye out playing with a sparkler?” She asked, genuinely interested. Out of anyone at this barbecue, Aubrey would know who’d been hurt by a sparkler. 

Aubrey paused to think. “My cousin’s friend had to go to the hospital because he tripped while running with a sparkler.” 

“Christ!” Beca dropped her sparkler to the ground and stomped on it. “Is he okay?”

“He burnt off part of his ear, Beca.” Aubrey replied. God, Aubrey was always so tense. Sometimes Fat Amy wished Chloe would just pull that stick that Aubrey had stuck up her ass out of there. 

“Yeah, but his eye is okay, though.” Chloe grinned, pointing her still burning sparkler at Aubrey. 

“You know that there are ten thousand recorded sparkler related injuries a year, Chloe.” Aubrey leaned back when Chloe got a little closer with the sparkler. “And I don’t want to be part of that statistic.”

“You won’t be part of the statistic if we don’t report it.” Beca pointed out, grabbing a beer from the cooler and sitting down. 

“Yeah, but Aubrey would know.” Chloe put out her sparkler and sat down in the chair Aubrey was already sat in. “Scoot over.” 

Aubrey moved over and kissed Chloe’s cheek. “Thank you for putting it out.” She said quietly. “I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

Fat Amy smiled at that. “Yeah, Chloe, you’re already a ginger, I don’t think Aubrey would be able to stay with you if you were disfigured as well.”

“Why are you like this?” Aubrey asked, looking annoyed. 

Fat Amy shrugged and gestured for Beca to toss her a beer. 

Aubrey didn’t look satisfied with Fat Amy’s non answer and opened her mouth to speak again when Chloe cut her off.

“Babe, you need to loosen up.” Chloe said, kissing Aubrey quickly. “Maybe you should...”

“No.” Aubrey said with the kind of conviction Fat Amy hadn’t heard Aubrey use when addressing Chloe in years. 

“I think you should show Beca and Amy your party trick.” Chloe was grinning now. 

“Absolutely not.” Aubrey’s jaw tightened. 

“Wait, what is this party trick?” Beca asked, looking both excited and terrified.

Fat Amy had to admit that she was curious now. What kind of party trick could Aubrey do that Chloe would find interesting? Maybe she could do someone’s taxes in less than ten minutes, or list all the ingredients in a bottle of  _ Windex _ . 

“Please, babe.” Chloe looked at Aubrey with a little bit of a pout and Fat Amy found herself rooting for the ginger for the first time in years. 

“Come one, Aubrey.” Fat Amy urged, leaning forward in her seat. “Show us that you’re cool.”

“Yeah, dude.” Beca agreed. “Please show us your party trick.”

Aubrey sighed and stood up, taking off her sunglasses and handing them to Beca before holding out her hand expectantly. 

Fat Amy watched in awe as Chloe got up and went to the cooler, tossing a can of beer right into Aubrey’s hand. In one fluid motion, Aubrey smashed the can against her forehead and proceeded to chug the entire beer in three seconds flat. Her jaw went slack as she watched Aubrey crush the now empty beer can in her hand and toss it at Beca before grabbing her sunglasses and putting them back on. 

“Holy shit!” Fat Amy exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. “How did you do that? How did you learn that you could do that?”

“What the fuck did I just watch?” Beca said loudly, looking almost as shocked as Fat Amy felt. 

“Do you take students?” Fat Amy asked, earning a glare from Aubrey. 

“It’s awesome, isn’t it?” Chloe grinned, sitting back down beside Aubrey. 

“Hell yeah it is.” Fat Amy nodded. Chloe had better get Aubrey locked down because the moment Fat Amy felt even the smallest sapphic urge, she was gonna be all over Aubrey. “Aubrey, you might have turned me. I think I love you.”

Unsurprisingly, Beca nodded. 

“Thank you.” Aubrey replied, looking over at Chloe. “But I’ve already got my eye on someone.”

“Aw.” Chloe smiled and kissed Aubrey. 

“I don’t know, Aubrey...” Fat Amy shrugged. “I don’t see a ring on that finger. That means you’re fair game.”

“Are you flirting with me?” Aubrey asked, her brow furrowing.

“Trust me, you’d know if I were flirting with you because you’d be terrified.”

“Oh, you’re definitely flirting with me, then.”

* * *

It was three in the morning and Chloe couldn’t sleep. She rolled over in bed and looked at Aubrey, smiling a little. Some of the things the others had said were weighing on her, especially how Amy had decided to try and flirt with Aubrey. Chloe couldn’t quite explain why it bothered her so much, but it certainly brought out a bout of jealousy that Chloe had never felt before.

Chloe sat up and looked at Aubrey for a little bit longer. All she could think about in those moments was what Aubrey had always said in defense whenever Chloe brought up the proposal in Amy’s Hummer. “I really wanted to be engaged to her right then and there.” With a smile, Chloe found herself whispering the words to herself as Aubrey rolled over in bed. 

“Screw it.” Chloe sighed, digging into her nightstand and feeling around for the velvet box she’d hidden behind the mouth guard that Aubrey had insisted that she get. 

Once the box was in her hands, Chloe grabbed her cellphone and opened the camera app, making sure the flash was on. She smiled widely and pointed the camera at Aubrey’s face, snapping a quick photo. Chloe took a moment to laugh at how it managed to capture the exact moment that Aubrey woke up due to the flash before kissing Aubrey on the cheek.

“Why would you do this to me?” Aubrey mumbled, turning to face Chloe. “I’m the only one in this house who’s never done anything wrong.”

Chloe smiled. “Babe, open your eyes, I have to give you something.”

Aubrey groaned and closed her eyes tighter. “Normally, I’d be all for it, but for serious, Chloe, just finish yourself off.”

Chloe’s brow furrowed. “Do you think I’m horny?”

“Why else would you wake me up this early?”

“A grilled cheese?”

“Well if you’re not hungry or horny, what do you need?”

“Open your eyes!” Chloe turned on her flashlight and flicked Aubrey on the nose. “Come on!”

Aubrey slowly blinked and opened her eyes fully, taking a moment to glare at Chloe. 

“Do you remember why you proposed to me in the back of Amy’s Hummer?” Chloe asked, earning a confused look. 

“I really wanted to be engaged to you right then and there.” Aubrey replied automatically.

“Yeah, well, I kind of get it now.” Chloe said, putting the velvet box on the pillow in front of Aubrey’s face and opening it. “Do you wanna be engaged to me right now and here?”

Aubrey looked a little less excited than Chloe had expected. “Yeah.” She said after taking in a breath. She managed to get her left hand up and out of the blankets. “Put it on me.”

“Babe, I just proposed.” Chloe said, slipping the ring on Aubrey’s finger quickly. “We’re engaged now.”

“Yep, okay.” Aubrey yawned, rolling over. “We’re engaged.”

Chloe’s brow furrowed. “Are you still asleep?”

Aubrey’s reply was a soft snore. 

Honestly, Chloe had no regrets. 

* * *

Aubrey woke up the next morning to the sun shining directly into her eyes. With a sigh, she sat up and stretched before frowning when she noticed a weight on her left hand that she wasn’t used to. She looked at her hands, eyes widening when she noticed the engagement ring on her finger, sparkling in the sunlight.

“Oh shit, that wasn’t a dream...”


End file.
